Cyclic olefin copolymer, and method for producing cyclic olefin copolymer

Abstract

A cyclic olefin copolymer that is a copolymer of a cyclic olefin monomer and an α-olefin having 3 or more and 20 or less carbon atoms, which has excellent tensile strength and breaking strain, and a method for producing the cyclic olefin copolymer. In the copolymer, the amount of structural units derived from the α-olefin is 10 mol % or more and 50 mol % or less relative to the entire structural units, and in a one-dimensional scattering curve with respect to the scattering vector q of small angle X-ray scattering for the cyclic olefin copolymer, a value obtained by dividing the half value width of a primary peak by the q value of the peak top thereof is in the range of 0.15 to 0.45.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A cyclic olefin copolymer that is an addition polymer of a cyclic olefin monomer and an α-olefin having 3 or more and 20 or less carbon atoms, wherein
 a ratio of the number of moles of structural units derived from the α-olefin to the number of moles of entire structural units is 10 mol % or more and 50 mol % or less, and 
 a one-dimensional scattering curve with respect to a scattering vector q of small angle X-ray scattering for the cyclic olefin copolymer has a primary peak, and a value obtained by dividing a half value width of the primary peak by a q value of a peak top thereof is in a range of 0.15 to 0.45, 
 wherein the scattering vector q=(4π sin θ)/λ, π represents the circular constant, 2θ represents the scattering angle, and λ represents the wavelength of incident X-rays. 
 
     
     
         2 . The cyclic olefin copolymer according to  claim 1 , wherein a value obtained by dividing a half value width of the primary peak by a q value of a peak top thereof is in a range of 0.20 to 0.40. 
     
     
         3 . A method for producing the cyclic olefin copolymer according to  claim 1 , comprising
 subjecting the cyclic olefin monomer and the α-olefin to addition polymerization in the presence of a titanocene catalyst represented by the following formula (1) and a co-catalyst,   wherein the co-catalyst comprises a borate compound and a hindered phenol, and   the cyclic olefin monomer and the α-olefin monomer are each dividedly added two or more times to a reaction system in which the addition polymerization is performed:   
       
         
           
           
               
               
           
         
       
       wherein R 1  to R 3  are each independently an alkyl group having 1 or more and 6 or less carbon atoms or an aryl group having 6 or more and 12 or less carbon atoms, R 4  and R 5  are each independently an alkyl group having 1 or more and 12 or less carbon atoms, an aryl group having 6 or more and 12 or less carbon atoms, or a halogen atom, and R 6  to R 13  are each independently a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group having 1 or more and 12 or less carbon atoms, an aryl group having 6 or more and 12 or less carbon atoms, or a silyl group optionally having a monovalent hydrocarbon group having 1 or more and 12 or less carbon atoms as a substituent. 
     
     
         4 . A method for producing the cyclic olefin copolymer according to  claim 1 , comprising:
 subjecting the cyclic olefin monomer and the α-olefin to addition polymerization in the presence of a titanocene catalyst represented by the following formula (1) and a co-catalyst,   wherein the co-catalyst comprises a borate compound and a hindered phenol, and   the addition polymerization is performed at a temperature in a range of 10° C. or higher and 60° C. or lower:   
       
         
           
           
               
               
           
         
       
       wherein R 1  to R 3  are each independently an alkyl group having 1 or more and 6 or less carbon atoms or an aryl group having 6 or more and 12 or less carbon atoms, R 4  and R 5  are each independently an alkyl group having 1 or more and 12 or less carbon atoms, an aryl group having 6 or more and 12 or less carbon atoms, or a halogen atom, and R 6  to R 13  are each independently a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group having 1 or more and 12 or less carbon atoms, an aryl group having 6 or more and 12 or less carbon atoms, or a silyl group optionally having a monovalent hydrocarbon group having 1 or more and 12 or less carbon atoms as a substituent.